Power
by Melancholy guy
Summary: Erick wants to be normal and left alone, but gifted with an amazing "quirk" He quickly becomes a target in the midst of a war. (Feel free to comment your opinions or questions it really helps. P.s: This is all Oc I just want opinions on it.)
1. Prologue

Jasmine ran through the crowded sidewalks, shoving past the swaths of people. Jasmine's brother Jax followed closely behind her, his giant body having trouble maneuvering through the clusters of civilians. His slow and muscular body was like a bull in a china shop compared to Jasmine's small frame, which moved fluidly through the crowd. Jasmine felt her adrenaline pumping through her veins as her heart thudded in her chest, propelling her forward. Her legs burned and she took huge, gasping breaths. She was exhausted from the long period of running she was going through. Judging from her brother's heavy breaths behind her he was rapidly running out of energy as well. It was clear that they couldn't outrun their enemy.

It was time to fight.

"Go left, Jax." Jasmine shouted over her shoulder. Jax merely grunted in acknowledgement. He never was much of one for words. She turned into a small alleyway and her brother followed on her heels. Jax caught up with her and the two slowed their pace as they reached the end of the dark alley. The twins each bent over, hands on their knees. Their gasping breaths gradually began slowing down and Jasmine gained the ability to speak again.

"We can't run away from him Jax. And he's not gonna let us get away from him."

"So what do we do?" He panted. His face was still red, sweat dripping down from his scruffy black hair.

"We fight back,"

"Are you kidding? You saw how well fighting went for Damascus."

Jasmine shuddered at the memory of the body of their friend Damascus. His body had been shot full of crossbow bolts, like a human pincushion. The thought of his death, and the man who had killed him, sent chills down Jasmine's spine and sent ice water through her veins.

"What happened to Damascus was...horrible. But he caught him off guard. Now we have the advantage. It's two against one."

Jax looked conflicted, like he was still deciding whether or not to turn around and go back to running. But finally he made up his mind.

"Alright Jasmine," He sighed. "We'll fight."

A smile spread across Jasmine's face, more of relief that she wouldn't fight that monster alone than any actual happiness. At that moment Jasmine felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up and a deep dread filled her body. Jax must have felt it to because all the color drained from his face as he turned around and faced the entrance to the alley. Jasmine turned around on her heel, knowing what, or more accurately who she would see at the end of the alley. There he was. Standing there.

"Well well well. Look who I found." His voice was hoarse and rough, almost like he was trying to talk with a throat full of gravel. His silhouette casted a long shadow in the dark alley. He was completely enveloped in darkness, none of his details could be seen. Jasmine was fine with that. She didn't want to see that horrible, scarred face of his.

"Your buddy Damascus slowed me down back there," He continued. He very slowly began taking a step closer to the twins. "It took me at least 10 minutes to pull all the bolts out of his body."

Jasmine balled her fists up tightly, her nails digging into her palms. She had a feeling Jax was doing the same.

"I counted how many I pulled out of him," He ignored their silence, taking another step towards them. "12 bolts. All over his chest, arms, legs...a couple in his face too." He added that last part with a chuckle.

"I've gotta give him credit though. He did land one hit on me," He took another step. "That super strength sure packs one hell of a punch. But he was slow. Sloppy. One of the easiest kills I've done-"

"That's enough, Grave," Jax interrupted. "This is for Damascus."

Jax charged forward full speed at Grave, Damascus' killer. Jax was less than a foot away from him when Grave simply stepped to the side and dodged Jax's attack. In one fluid motion he spun on his heel and pulled a crossbow out from under his coat. It was already loaded with a bolt and cocked back. He faced Jax and aimed his crossbow. Jasmine ran forward, but too late as he pulled the trigger and sent the bolt into Jax's leg, right into his kneecap. Jax cried out and fell to the ground clutching his bleeding knee.

Grave turned, already fitting another bolt into place on his crossbow. With incredible speed he reloaded the crossbow and aimed it towards Jasmine. She closed the distance between them and grabbed the crossbow, pushing it up above their heads. Grave pulled the trigger, but too late. The bolt sailed harmlessly into the air, disappearing into the dark night. Jasmine rammed her elbow into Grave's chest, pushing him back.

Grave was prepared for this, though. He grabbed Jasmine's arm with his free hand and twisted, using her momentum to flip her over onto the asphalt. The wind was knocked out of her chest as he slammed his knee into her stomach, stunning her. She managed to let out a weak groan as he sent his fist into her face. Grave stood, planting his foot on her chest to keep her still as he pulled another bolt out of the quiver he wore on his belt. Jasmine looked around her, trying to find anything to use to escape. Just out of reach was a small metal pipe, about two feet long. She stretched her arm out as far as she could, but it was just out of reach of her fingers. Grave must have seen her futile attempts at grabbing the weapon because he began to chuckle to himself.

Before he could fit it into the crossbow Jax slammed into him from behind, sending Grave flying. The crossbow clattered to the ground nearby. Jasmine took deep, gasping breaths as the pressure was released from her chest. She rolled over onto her side and looked over at Grave. He was already lifting himself to his feet, though he was clearly stunned by the force of Jax's attack. Jax limped over to Grave, the bolt still sticking out of his right knee, blood still dripping down his leg. Jax picked Grave up by the back of his coat and threw him against the brick wall of the alley. Jasmine reached out and grabbed the pipe, feeling the cold steel in her hand.

"Jax! Catch!" Jasmine tossed the pipe in the air towards Jax. He caught it easily, and a smile crossed his face.

Jax's hands and forearms began glowing orange and red, like there was a fire raging just under his skin. His grip tightened around the pipe, and the pipe began to glow as well. Steam rose, accompanied by a hiss, as the pipe began to heat up and glow red. The light from his hands and the pipe cast a red glow in the darkness of the alley.

Jax stalked towards the recovering Grave, gripping it with both hands and getting ready to swing it like a baseball bat. As he swung at Grave's head, Grave kicked out and struck Jax right in his injured leg. Jax collapsed onto one knee mid-swing. Grave simply caught the pipe with one hand, stopping it inches from his face. His skin hissed as he held onto the red-hot metal pipe, but he never flinched or made a single noise. He simply ripped the pipe out of Jax's hands and swung it right into his face.

Jasmine forced herself not to watch the burning pipe slam into Jax's face, but she heard the noise of it. There was a dull thud and a loud crunch accompanied by the ringing of metal. She heard Jax groan and the thud as he fell heavily to the ground. She stood to her feet, recovered from Grave's assault. But she stood helpless, watching as Grave pulled a knife out of his boot, and plunged it down into Jax's chest.

Time stopped for Jasmine, and the her vision was instantly blurred by tears. Jax's eyes widened as he stared at the dagger sticking out of his chest, blood bubbling up and gushing out of him. Jasmine barely registered herself screaming her brother's name, almost like she was watching someone else control her body. Grave turned, a wide, wicked smile on his face. Jasmine was paralyzed, rooted to the spot. Grave began walking over to Jasmine slowly, bending down and picking up his fallen crossbow as he got closer. Her thoughts were drawn to old childhood memories of the Jax and her together. The Twins is what everybody called them. Or sometimes the Terrible Twins when they got into trouble. But now she was alone. Her brother was gone.

Jasmine snapped out of her trance and her mind came back into the real world as Grave began pulling a bolt out of his quiver. Her instincts took over, and she ran. She dashed out of the alley and back into the crowded city sidewalks. In a mad attempt to put distance between her and the man who had killed her brother and her friend she ran right into the street. Cars honked and swerved as she made a mad dash for the opposite side of the street. She stopped in her tracks as a moving truck cut her off, speeding by only a few inches from her face. A car honked, and she turned. She was, almost comically, like a deer in headlights. She was paralyzed, waiting for the car to smash into her body at fifty miles per hour.

Jasmine heard a whistling noise coming at her. Before she could move she saw the front window of the oncoming car shatter, and the driver swerved to the side. The car made a sharp turn and crashed into another car that was parked on the curb, the sound of metal on metal was shockingly loud. The car finally stopped, smashing into a fire hydrant on the sidewalk. Water sprayed out of the bottom of the ruined hydrant into the street. Jasmine approached the crashed car cautiously, peering into the shattered windshield. The passenger, a young, pretty woman, had been killed by the flying shards of glass in the crash, a slit in her throat gushed blood. The driver, a man who looked around the same age as his passenger, was dead. A crossbow bolt was sticking out of his forehead.

Jasmine heard another whistling and gasped in shock as a sharp pain stabbed into her side. She looked down and saw the tip of a bolt sticking through her stomach as blood soaked into her shirt at a rapid rate. She collapsed to the ground, clutching her wound and tried to crawl away onto the sidewalk. As she dragged herself through the flowing water that covered the street she heard a cruel voice laughing behind her. She knew Grave was coming, and he would kill her. But not before he got everything he needed to know from her. Everything she knew about her.

Jasmine felt Grave's hand on her shoulder, flipping her onto her back. She groaned in pain as more pressure was put onto her still bleeding wound. Grave stood over her, his boot once again crushing her chest.

"I've got to hand it to you. You're tough. You're a survivor," His wide smile reappeared. "Your brother...not so much."

He laughed as tears streamed from Jasmine's eyes.

"Please tell me the truth. I really don't want to have to torture it out of you. Where is the girl?"

Jasmine squirmed helplessly as she tried to escape the weight of Grave's boot. He lifted his foot for a split second, only to crush it back down into Jasmine's stomach, right on her open wound.

"I'll ask you again. Where is the girl?" Grave was no longer smiling.

Jasmine looked around her, trying to find an advantage. There was nothing for her to grab, everything had been washed away by the water from the fire hydrant. A few inches of water was now covering the street like a river. A thought crossed Jasmine's mind.

She focused all of her pain and her energy, and concentrated on using the Power. She felt a tingle in her left hand and looked down at it. It was now glowing with a light blue, and like her brother's hand the glowing looked like it was right under the surface of her skin. She saw small flakes of ice crystalize on her hand, and the skin of her hand and her forearm, stopping just below her elbow, turned a pale blue color.

"Tell your boss I say 'hi.'" Jasmine said with a sly smile. She stuck her hand into the rushing torrent of water from the hydrant, freezing it on contact with her hand. She awkwardly grabbed at large shards of frozen water, holding onto a large one. She pulled it out and stuck it into Grave's leg. Grave recoiled in pain, and Jasmine pulled the ice shard out and stabbed his other leg. The injury to both of his legs caused Grave to topple over, landing with his face half covered in a pool of flowing water. Jasmine crawled onto the sidewalk, above the water level, and stuck both of her palms into the surface of the water. She activated her power once again, freezing the entire pool of water solid. Grave screamed as half of his face was stuck, frozen into the ice. His hands and feet were likewise frozen in the few inches of now solid ice.

"GET BACK HERE! GET ME OUT! I'LL KILL YOU FOR THIS!"

Jasmine turned and walked away, grabbing her injury. She had done it. She had stopped Grave, at least for the time being. And she had protected the secret. The secret that Damascus and Jax had died to protect. As Jasmine walked away from the carnage, she heard sirens approaching.

It was time to run away again.


	2. Chapter 1: Erick

Erick was sitting on alone, looking around his room miserably. Everything he owned was either packed away in boxes or in big bags. He wasn't upset that he was moving, but the reason bothered him. It was his mom, she had met a man named Morris who had convinced his mom to move to Chicago with him, but that's the only thing I ever remember about him.

Still, he thought to himself, It would be nice to go somewhere where people didn't stare at him all the time. Erick wasn't someone who enjoyed too much attention, but it seemed that attention somehow followed him. When he was 9 years old his class when on a field trip to the zoo, he had wandered off with his best friend David. They ended up deciding to go back to the group after they had both been scared by a tiger that had clawed at them from behind the glass. Then Erick had seen a little girl, she was alone and she seemed scared. He walked up to her to ask if she needed help but a middle aged man had walked up to her and took her by the hand. He stopped, thinking it was the girl's father, but the look on her face made him feel that it wasn't.

As they walked away Erick followed, with David beside him all the way, to the empty parking lot where the man had parked his car.

"Give me your phone." He said to David. He began to film, "Let my sister go!" Erick lied. The man turned, mistake for him.

"Here." He handed the phone to David, who continued filming. David filmed Erick running across a parking lot, shouting for help as he jumped on the older man, biting and scratching, doing anything to slow him down. David yelled for help until adults came. Erick and David had both made the local news for catching a wanted child molester and Erick was suddenly a local celebrity.

Erick now looked out his bedroom window at the house across the street. It was long empty now. The old neighbors had been Erick's first and only friends. David and Amber first moved across from him around the time he was born. They moved out after someone had tried to rob their house, that night ended with a fight that killed their mother. It had been empty for almost 5 years now.

Erick decided to sleep while he waited for his mother's return. When he fell asleep he had a dream that he'd had many times, but this dream was memory of years ago. He was walking along an empty street, then out of one of the houses people ran out. The house caught fire so quickly and burned so hot he felt it from across the street. Then the scream of a little girl with the voice of a giant. Before Erick could think his body sprinted towards the house. People yelled at him but he ignored them. Erick bounded up the stairs and searched until he found her, a little girl no more than 5 or 6 years old. He had guided her to the exit and told her to run, he tripped and landed on his back, winded. From above a pillar of fire dropped on him, causing him to wake up suddenly. He was sweating. He removed his shirt to look at the scar that ran across his whole chest diagonally, going right over his heart. The melted and torn skin had now healed. But Erick was different from that day on, more ill tempered and bitter despite being greeted with praise for his good deeds and despite the special treatment he had received.

"Some hero." Erick grumbled to himself while he put his shirt back on.

His mom came and they loaded that last of their stuff into the rental truck and left. The ride was long, so he listened to music to try and pass the time. After Erick got bored and restless he began to look at photos on his phone, after a short time of going through recent photos. He got to much older ones, photos taken when David often stole his phone while Erick's attention was elsewhere. They were mostly of Erick with David's head sticking out of the corner, he was always smiling. Amber was in many of them too, always being dragged along with them to act almost like the mother of the group. In this past life before they left Erick had always had a crush on her and they had even been each other's first kiss. They had moved after their mother died, He hadn't heard from them since their mother's funeral.

"Rick?" His mother said, ripping him out of his memories. She called him 'Rick' ever since his father died. She had reserved Erick for his father, who had died of cancer when Erick was 6. He still had distant memories of him, his best one was from years and years ago, an average night. While he was being tucked in and Erick had asked him, "Dad, why don't you want to take your medicine?" He had just looked at him with a smirk and said, "Cause you don't want a bald dad do ya'?" A month after that he had taken a turn for the worst and died not long after.

"I know you think that I'm moving fast with Morris, but, it's just that he makes me happy. I haven't felt this way since..." She stopped.

"I know mom. I know." Erick reassured her.

After that Erick fell asleep, and woke up when they pulled up to a tall building, taller than Erick had ever seen. It was a skyscraper of clean glass going up and up. The windows reflected the rest of the Chicago skyline off of them. Morris was waiting for them, he had a nice clean suit on and his short, dark hair was slicked back and combed very neatly. He wore a smile that seemed too friendly for his naturally angry-looking face.

"We're moving into an apartment? Will all our stuff even fit?" Erick wondered aloud as they stepped out of their rental truck. As Morris walked up to them he simply chuckled and said, "Come, I'll give you a tour." Morris turned and began walking into the building. "They will bring all your stuff up." He said as he motioned to a group of hotel workers who all began to rush to the truck as soon as Morris mentioned them.

Erick was speechless, after going up many floors in the elevator they arrived to a almost mansion-like apartment that was twice the size of his old house. After touring the rest of the massive apartment Morris showed him to his room, which was painted a nice deep blue that made Erick feel like he was in the ocean. On one end was a window with the view of the Chicago skyline, and at the other end Erick could see a small sliver of the coast. The room was at least three times as big as Erick's old room and it was furnished with a large screen TV with gaming systems hooked up. There was a pool table as well as a air hockey table, a bed large enough for a family of six to sleep on. Erick jumped when Morris patted him on the back saying "It's all yours, Erick." Erick noticed something strange, despite the fact that Erick knew that he did not like Morris, something about his voice made Erick unable to resist smiling.

He fought hard to shake the feeling and said, "So. What do you really do?"

Their eyes met and for a split second and Erick saw irritation in them, hidden behind layers of mock pleasantry, but again Morris just smiled and said "I'd prefer it if you didn't ask questions, Erick," Just then Erick's mind felt fuzzy, and warm. When he tried to question him further he found that his mouth was not obeying him. "I'm sure that you'd much rather sit here and play your video games, wouldn't you Erick?" Erick wasn't much of a gamer, but at that moment all Erick wanted to do was play video games.

"And Erick," Morris added with an almost sinister looking smile, "Leave me and your mother alone." He spoke gently and politely, but all niceness left his voice as he said that last word.

Again Erick tried to protest, but he was already moving and thinking about video games, about how much he needed to play video games. After a few minutes he hadn't even noticed that Morris had left. Even after hours when Erick had gone to try and get water or further explore the apartment, he would stop at the door, unable to turn the knob and leave, and he would have the sudden urge to play his video games again. Finally he was able to make it to bed and fall asleep.

Kyle Dunn walked down the busy Downtown Chicago sidewalk. The light grey concrete had been darkened from the previous night's storm, the smell of rain filled the air, even drowning out the nearly constant stench of the city's car exhaust and trash. Small puddles covered the ground every few steps. Kyle went out of his way to step in each of these puddles, creating a small splash each time (often to the annoyance of the dozens of people walking on the sidewalk with him). It was something Kyle had done to every single puddle he had seen ever since he was a kid. The memory of those simpler times brought a smile to his face.

This was the fifth time Kyle had walked down this street today. It was a boring chore, and a tedious one, but it was a necessary chore. If it wasn't done right, if something slipped past his eyes, it could undo everything they had worked so hard to build up. Kyle reached up and pulled off the hood of his sky blue jacket, giving him a better field of view over the street. A light misting of raindrops pattered against his head, soaking into his blonde hair. People walked on the sidewalk with umbrellas held over them or hoods over their heads. A block down the street a car had sped through a puddle in the road, sending ice cold water splashing onto the pedestrians on the sidewalk. Down the street in the opposite direction two children jumped and splashed in the water. Cars sped through yellow lights and grumbled down the road. Every now and again one would honk its horn obnoxiously.

Everything looks normal, Kyle thought to himself. Almost too normal...

He shook the creeping feeling of paranoia away. He knew it was just the stress of the job and the chilling rain that was making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Or at least he thought he knew it.

Kyle stopped in front of an alley between two large brick buildings. He slipped his hand into his jacket pocket and fished out a small piece of chalk. Kyle bent down and kneeled on one knee to tie the laces of his running shoes. When he finished he very discreetly dragged the chalk against the base of the building, making a diagonal white line that stood out from the faded red bricks. It was small and insignificant, something you wouldn't notice unless you were looking for it.

He stood and resumed walking, looking over his shoulder to make sure he wasn't spotted by anyone. But the people of Chicago were ignorant of anything they didn't care to see. Kyle went around the block and stopped in a local coffee shop. He bought a small cup of coffee, black, and drank it inside the store. He paid with cash. He looked out the large glass window and scanned the streets. He looked for the usual signs that told him he'd been followed: One car rounding the corner too many times, people he'd seen earlier that day walking across the street, any suspicious people taking pictures of the shop from the street outside.

Kyle spotted none of this. The coast seemed clear. He checked his phone (the burner phone he used was an ancient flip phone). Half an hour had passed since he had marked the wall, which meant it was time to move. He got up and drained the rest of the coffee and threw it in the trash. Kyle stepped out into the rainy day and rounded the block to the position of the mark. It was the same, unaltered. A sinking feeling filled Kyle's stomach.

Whoever Kyle was meeting was supposed to cross his diagonal line with a mark of their own, making an X out of the two marks, signalling that the meeting was going as it should be. But Kyle's mark was alone. Whoever he was supposed to meet was required to be here and make their mark within thirty minutes of Kyle's mark. His contacts had always made the meetings within five minutes, but Kyle had always made the meeting on the dot. Kyle was infamous for being on time.

Kyle went around the block a few more times, each time he sent an inconspicuous glance at his mark on the wall. Each time it was left untouched. Kyle was supposed to leave by now, but he couldn't bring himself to it. He knew something was wrong, and he needed to find out what it was.

Kyle rounded the corner one more time, and from across the street of his alley he saw a small white line crossing his mark, creating an X on the faded brick wall. He stopped and looked up and down the street, seeing one more time if there was anything suspicious. Anything that would compromise the meeting. Both ways were the same, nothing out of the ordinary. People walked, cars drove by, and rain drizzled gently down to the earth.

Kyle stood on the corner of the street opposite of his mark. He shifted back and forth on his feet nervously. He was anxious, and he had a very bad feeling in his stomach. The hairs on the back of his neck were standing on their ends again, as if something supernatural was warning him that something was wrong. Kyle wanted nothing more than to leave. He had every reason to. The standard procedure for this kind of operation was to leave if the contact was late. He was supposed to leave if something seemed wrong. He was supposed to trust his gut. Kyle knew that he should've walked away from the whole situation. More than just walk away from the alley, he wanted to run away.

Kyle was used to solving his problems by running.

But, in spite of every one of his primal instincts, Kyle stepped out into the street. In an instant, time slowed for Kyle and the world around him nearly stood still as he focused on the Power within him. Kyle could see each drop of rain fall from the sky, falling to the ground in slow motion. The people on the sidewalks almost seemed to freeze in place, moving like sloths. Kyle walked slowly, weaving in and out of the traffic that was now moving at a snail's pace. There was no noise as he walked besides the whooshing of wind past his ears. He moved so fast that nobody he passed would even be able to register that he had walked in front of them. All they would feel would be a gust of wind as he sped past them.

As he reached the opposite sidewalk he noticed something on the ground, a splash of deep red contrasting against the light grey of the concrete. It was out of place in the city, and something that should not have been there, and something that wasn't on the sidewalk all the other times Kyle had been by the alley. But it was unmistakable. Sitting on the sidewalk, already beginning to be washed away by the rain was a small drop of blood.

Kyle felt the dread in his heart grow, his spine tingled, and his veins flooded with ice. He now knew for sure that something was very wrong. As Kyle approached the alleyway he noticed another drop of blood on the sidewalk, this one was a little bigger than the last one. Kyle saw one drop after another, each one leading to the alley.

He finally reached the alleyway. There was nothing out of the ordinary about the alley, it looked like an average city alley. Though there were dumpsters against the brick walls piles of garbage sat piled up against them. Kyle released his focus on his Power, and the world returned to normal. The rain fell from the sky like it did before, and sound returned to Kyle's ears. The engines of the cars roaring and the peoples' steps on the pavement echoed off the walls of the brick alley.

Kyle stepped down the asphalt slowly, his nerves on their ends. He was jittery, trying to prepare himself for anything. He half expected to be ambushed by an army of soldiers hiding in the shadows. He also half expected to see nothing at all in the alley, it was all just some figment of his imagination. He shivered, not from the cold of the rainy day, but from the eeriness of the empty alley.

He noticed something unusual at the end of the alley. Behind a dumpster was a small puddle of liquid pooling out from under it, leaking out into the alley. He stepped closer, and he realized with a shock what the puddle was. The sunlight breaking through the gloom of the cloudy sky above provided very minor light between the skyscrapers, but what light that did reach the grimy alley illuminated the puddle that was slowly growing from behind the dumpster. The dark puddle reflected a deep red pigment, the instantly recognizable color of blood.

Kyle felt sick to his stomach. That puddle was very large, meaning somebody was seriously hurt. Or dead, Kyle added to himself. He approached the dumpster, ready to run away at the first sign of danger. He pushed his fears to the back of his mind like he was taught all those years ago and he took another step forward.

One step at a time, Kyle said to himself. One step at a time, he got closer to the dumpster. The alley had grown silent, an unusual thing to happen in a big city like Chicago. He finally reached the dumpster. Kyle closed his eyes and took a deep breath, calming his nerves a little. With his fears stuck firmly in the back of his mind he jumped around the dumpster and faced the source of the blood.

A girl sat with her back slumped against the brick wall. Her face was almost unrecognizable to Kyle. She looked to be in her early twenties, with a young, pretty face and long black hair. Her smooth bronze skin was very pale, and her long hair was unwashed and wild. She had dark bags under her closed eyes and a bruise on her face, right on her left cheekbone. There was a smear of dried blood on her other cheek. Despite her bloodied and beaten appearance, Kyle remarked how she was still beautiful.

"Jasmine," Kyle gasped, more to himself than anyone in particular.

Then Kyle looked down, and lodged in her stomach was some kind of arrow, covered in dried blood, as were her hands that laid on her stomach and clutched at the wound.. The white t-shirt she wore was soaked, more red than it was white.

"What have you done now?" Kyle whispered to himself.

"You're late, Speedy," Jasmine's voice rasped. Her lips curved into a weak smile. Her eyelids opened and Kyle saw the dark blue irises peer up at him. Her eyes were hazy and unfocused, but they seemed to light up a little at the sight of Kyle.

"I could say the same about you, Jas. What happened to you?"

"I'll tell you later. I need to get to Wayne. He needs to know...what's going to happen," Jasmine winced in pain as she tried to sit up from the blood stained wall, but Kyle put his hand on her shoulder and leaned her back against it.

"You're in no condition to be going anywhere. You need help,"

"Kyle, you and I both know we can't go to a hospital," Jasmine grabbed Kyle's hand and slid it off of her shoulder.

"I'm getting you to the healer," Kyle bent down to eye level with Jasmine.

"She's not gonna help us. She quit helping people," Jasmine put her arm around Kyle as he lifted her delicately off of the ground.

"She'll help you. I'll make sure of that," Kyle said as he steadied the injured Jasmine's body against his own.

"How are we gonna get to her? We're not exactly going to blend in out there,"

Jasmine let out another wince and her legs gave out. Kyle reacted with lightning speed and caught her.

"Don't worry about blending in. Nobody's gonna see us," Kyle said.

Jasmine laughed through the obvious pain that was on her bloodied face as she leaned on Kyle. "And how exactly are you planning on doing that?"

"It'll be easy," Kyle flashed a smile at her. "I'm gonna run."

Kyle picked the injured Jasmine up in his arms and time slowed to a crawl once again. Kyle stepped out into the busy street and watched the raindrops fall from the sky. He looked down at Jasmine, who hadn't even had time to react yet. Her face was calm again, all the pain from her was gone. She had closed her eyes mid-blink, and she looked like she was at peace. Kyle looked straight ahead and ran harder. As Kyle ran he made sure to step in every puddle he came across.

The next few months crawled by slowly for Erick. He'd spend most of his days wandering the streets and admiring the large city. Erick would stop at different cafes and just watch as people lived out their days. He would enjoy the sounds of the city and the feeling of a weight being lifted off his shoulders. Erick had finally become anonymous. In a city of 2.7 million people, nobody had time to worry about Erick and his fifteen minutes of fame. Erick had started a schedule of visiting the large stainless steel sculptures in Millennium Park.

One cold, Chicago morning while Erick was admiring the large, metallic, bean-shaped sculpture that was Cloud Gate. Erick saw something out the corner of his eye. A man dressed in a black sweater with matching jeans and a beanie took the bag of woman who looked well into her 60's. She shouted but the only policeman near them was far away and didn't seem to be paying attention. The man sprinted for the city streets to be lost in the crowd of people. Erick knew that what happened next was beyond his control, but as if they had minds of their own Erick's legs began to move. He ran straight to where the man would end up meeting the road which required him to run right under Cloud Gate ruining the picture of what were clearly tourist.

Erick was not a track racer and could not run particularly fast. But Erick ran regardless. The thief made it to the road with Erick closely behind, the man pushed through the crowded streets and into an alley. The thief had already made it halfway through when Erick entered. Just as the thief was reaching the end of the alley he ran into an enormous man walking into the alley. When they crashed into each other the thief with the bag fell, but the other man did not. As they collided the sound of metal hitting flesh echoed around the alley. It sounded like the thief had run right into a dumpster.

The purse in his hand went flying and landed right into the hands of the man, who looked very puzzled. As he caught up to the two Erick noticed that the enormous man had a scar that ran from the bottom of his lip all the way to his left ear. He looked at Erick and stuck out the purse, "Is this yours?"

"Uh no, I saw him take it from a lady and I just started running. But I can promise to return it to its owner," Erick informed the stranger who then smiled and said, "Nice to know there are still heroes among us."

"I'm definitely no hero." Erick corrected.

"I don't know man. Guys steals purse, you see it and start chasing the guy seems very 'hero' to me. But, hey, who am I? Just at the right place at the right time. Here, man." He tossed the bag and Erick caught it. He stuck his hand in his pocket turned and threw a peace sign behind his back saying "Later,"

Erick looked at the thief laying on the ground, who seemed to be very much out of it. He was groaning about hitting his head too hard. Erick left the alley and returned the bag to the old lady, who was trying to give a description to a police officer who wasn't really listening. She kindly gave Erick five dollars and he was on his way. He went home and had a unmeaningful talk with Morris that he didn't quite remember as usual before he went to his room to play video games till he fell asleep.

As fall began to turn to Winter Erick started college, he was studying to become a teacher. Erick had been good at tutoring kids all throughout his high school career and he had begun to like the idea. Erick's passion had been to write but he often thought he was too boring to be a good novel writer.

While sitting In class one day Erick saw a familiar face, the scar was unmistakable. Erick chuckled to himself, "Small world", he said to himself. Erick made few attempts to speak to this recurring stranger but always seemed to missed him. Erick focused on his school work and continued to accommodate to the city and its people. Erick had almost gotten stabbed twice trying to stop muggings, and had seen interesting people like a man in his mid twenties wearing sunglasses as snow fell from the sky. All was well for a few months until one day on the walk to school early in the morning Erick saw a mugging and a familiar scar.

Erick now knew better than to try and stop a mugging in a big city it couldn't be helped. But still he saw a man holding a knife at someone who although they shared only one memory it was one that laid heavily on Ericks mind "Right place right time" he'd said. What if i'm here at the right place right time to help? Don't I owe him? And with that thought Erick backtracked to the alley a peaked ever so carefully and saw the strangest thing happen so fast he thought he'd imagined it. The man went to stab the man in the stomach but the knife slid right off in fact it cut through his shirt to reveal a metal plate exactly where skin should have been. The Mugger had not noticed the metal but he did notice that he wasn't exactly acting like a man who'd just been stabbed.

Then another interesting thing happened, the kid swung wide and just as he made contact the man's arm seemed to turn into steel. It was skin then metal no transition just one moment skin and the next a metal hand then skin again. Erick was so awe struck he tripped when someone grazed him lightly and when he did he turned revealing his scar again his eyes piercing into Erick's. As they held a gaze the mugger had recovered enough to pull out a gun. Erick saw this but the man did not, the mugger was dazed and was shaking but he was too close to miss. Erick did something he'd seen or rather heard Morris do when he wanted something done, he just said what he wanted. "Put that down."

Erick didn't know why he'd done this and he certainly couldn't explain it to anyone but something deep down in his gut told him it would work. The mugger stopped and dropped the gun, the man with the scar now saw and punched the mugger in the face causing him to drop unconscious then he looked at Erick with a grin, his scar made him look almost insane.

"Yo-You just, your hand it turned to metal."

"And your voice just stopped him from shooting me." He chuckled a bit. "Son of a bitch. If that isn't the most clutch thing Ever."

"I mean That. Was definitely a cool quirk."

"Quirk?"

"Man no one is even gonna believe that I found you by chance." he said ignoring Erick.

"Umm…"

"Oh yeah I forgot. Im Darren and you are a 'Hero'. I'd like to take you to meet some people." He took a moment to read Erick face. "Don't worry, we're like you."

"What?"

"Look you don't pretend you didn't see my hand turn into a metal glove and I won't pretend you didn't just trick that guy into not shooting me and you can join my club?"

Erick had a million questions floating around in his head but what came out of his mouth was "Club?"

"Oh yeah. Hero. Welcome to the resistance." He said as he stuck out his hand to Erick.


	3. Chapter 2: Welcome to the resistance

Stanley knew it was just a dream. He knew it was just an old memory, one he couldn't get out of his head. It was a memory he couldn't escape. That day was burned into his mind over six years ago.

All those years ago he had lucked his way into the job that he'd always dreamed of: escorting the President of the United States. It was a job that nobody else tasked with that job thought was very unusual, except for Stanley. They had done it a hundred times, but for him it was a once in a lifetime experience. No one expected an attack, especially with all the security that surrounded the president. It would've been a routine escort job, drive from a press event to the airport. Cops had blocked off the route, so no traffic was going to get in the way. The routine had been practiced a thousand times and every possible scenario was planned for.

But no one had planned for an impossible event that defied all logic. Stanley was in the limousine with the president, who was seated in the middle with guards on both sides of him, when the car got cut clean in half by laser beam. The beam was blue with streaks of purple flowing through it and it cut the car longways melting through two of the guards on sitting next to Stanley. Stanley fell out along with everyone else, he slid across the concrete and his left side was scraped so bad he couldn't get up. The last thing Stanley saw before he flew out of the car was the president's body separating into two halves, each half tumbling out into the road along with the rest of the guards. Stanley had flown into a bush looking at the long empty strip of road surrounded by trees.

A man stood in the middle of the road. He had cut through two of the 3 cars when the last one stopped and Secret Service agents poured out, guns out and already shooting. The man simply lifted his hand and a light beam shot from his palms, melting any bullets that were coming and causing the car behind them to ignite and then explode, killing all the guards near it. Fiery shrapnel flew in every direction, lodging into trees, other cars, and the bodies of the guards. Anyone still alive was cut down by the man's sweeping beams of light.

Out of the flaming wreck of the car a man jumped out. He was indifferent to the fire on him, and the fire actually looked to be attracted to him, swirling away from the wrecked car and seeming to surround him. He pulled his gun out of its holster and fired it as he running at the man with the laser hands. He grazed the man, who fired at the flaming man with the killing light beam. The man on fire ducked and rolled out of the way, still running towards him. The gun quickly ran out of bullets and he threw it to the side. He ran, only about a dozen feet away from light-hands, and with his right hand he clawed at the air and swung his arm like it he was pitching a baseball. A ball of flame from his body shot out like a flame thrower. Stanley could feel the heat from his hiding place in the bush.

The man was ignited immediately and burned as his killing light died. He fell to one knee, screaming in agony, and tried to lift his hands to fire one last beam of light, but fire came down on him as the flaming man extended his hands towards him. Flames shot from his hands like a cyclone, melting the man like a candle. He burned, then soon disintegrated, leaving behind only a pile of ash in the road. The flaming man turned and looked around, searching for any survivors. He spotted Stanley, and his eyes settled on him. He stared, and that was the last thing Stanley remembered before he passed out.

Stanley still woke up screaming at the memory of that day, even six years later. He sat up in his small, uncomfortable bed, drenched in sweat. He took deep, gasping breaths as he tried to calm down. The clock on the nightstand told him it was just three minutes shy of four in the morning. He fell back and laid his head on his pillow.

Just a dream.

As soon as he calmed himself his door opened. Even in the darkness of the room he knew who it was standing in the doorway.

"Get up," was all the man said before he left the room.

Stanley groaned and sat up in his bed. Every muscle in his body was sore from yesterday's training. He was covered in cuts and scrapes that were still healing. He looked at his burned wrist. It was still red and raw from last week. The burn was torturing him, but he wasn't allowed to use painkillers.

Stanley got dressed and left his small room. He walked down the brightly lit hallway. The only noise he could hear was his own footsteps echoing out in the large, empty hall. The tile floors were clean and shiny, reflecting the bright fluorescent lights above. Everything was clean and white.

He took left and right turns down the long hallways, navigating the maze perfectly despite there being no signs on any of the walls. Each hall looked identical to the last, pristine tile floors and clean white walls. In each hall there were a few doors, which housed, some might say imprisoned, other trainees. But Stanley wasn't like them, he wasn't trapped. He definitely couldn't do some of the things they could.

Stanley had spent his whole life standing out. He was discovered to be a genius when he was in middle school, graduating college at only twenty years old, and joined the CIA, where he also quickly mastered all aspects of the job. Stanley had unrivaled intellect compared to his peers, but he lacked experience and wisdom, at least that's what Dylan told him. Dylan was the only other survivor from that day six years ago. The day someone with superpowers murdered the president. Nobody knew about that though. It was quickly covered up, everyone who was involved "disappeared." Including Stanley. A new president was put in place. Facial reconstruction made him indistinguishable from the now dead president, and nobody ever knew the difference.

After that day Stanley was let into the inner circle. The Order. Over the years Dylan told him about The Order and the Powered. He told Stanley about the ancient rock that helped form the Earth, but radiation from that rock mutated some humans with certain DNA. Scientists and philosophers from throughout history believed that the rock was simply a device to help humans evolve, but when humans learned that only some people were granted the rock's gift it began to corrupt them.

Evidence of individuals who had acquired powers could be traced all the way back to the ancient Egyptians, who revered them as gods. A circle of individuals was created, only those with the Power could be trusted with the knowledge of it. That was the start of The Order, founded by the men who built the Egyptian Pyramids. The Order was started to control the Power and keep it contained. Over the thousands of years the Order spread their control across the world.

During the height of the ancient Roman Empire a group of members of the Order left, forming a faction of rebels. They fought the Order in secret, with the conflict causing the fall of the Roman Empire. The secret war spread across the ancient world, trying and failing to destroy the Order. As the center of powers in the world shifted, so did the Order. Every move the Order made the resistance followed after them, preventing the Order from seizing complete control of the world. In 1963, the American president, and one of the few non-powered people to know of the Order, John F. Kennedy was assassinated by an agent of the Order. That was the start of a war that ended with the Chernobyl Incident. Since then the rebels have gone into hiding. The Order now ruled from behind the scenes, unchallenged. Stanley was taken in and trained as one of them. Stanley was trained for a different world now, one that was extraordinary to him and a lifelong struggle for others.

Stanley stopped walking and stood before the large metal door of the combat room. He sighed as he opened the door and walked in. Dylan was standing in the center of a large grey room, the walls were all unpainted cement and the floor was covered in padding. Lights and cameras covered the walls and the ceiling, recording each of the trainees' moves. He watched as two dozen trainees fought and wrestled hand-to-hand with other trainees or guards. The sound of bodies hitting the floor or groans of pain stopped when Stanley entered the room. All eyes moved to him, except for Dylan.

"Any volunteers to be Stanley's sparring partner?" Dylan yelled as he looked around the crowd. Stanley's fellow students seemed to flinch, and everyone avoided looking Dylan in the eyes. Stanley was one of the best fighters the program had ever had. He had beaten each of the other trainees, and was undefeated. Dylan's question remained unanswered, the students trying desperately to avoid being picked. Dylan pointed to man in the crowd.

"Trevor! You're up." Trevor sighed to himself before jogging over to an empty mat. Stanley walked over and joined him.

"Continue!" Dylan yelled to the room, his voice echoing off of the concrete walls. Everyone scrambled back to their mats and resumed their training. Dylan crossed his arms as he patrolled the room, watching the trainers and students spar. Stanley more or less enjoyed this part of training because it was the only part that he felt he really excelled at.

"Whenever you're ready," Trevor said to me. Stanley could see that Trevor was hesitant to start, he was trying to anticipate Stanley's first move. Stanley inched towards him, moving slightly left and right. Trevor grew impatient and lunged with a left hook that was strong enough to knock anyone out. The trainees were taught not to hold back, because they knew that their enemies wouldn't. Stanley quickly ducked the attack and while Trevor's balance was compromised Stanley picked him up by the legs and threw him backwards, flipping him over behind Stanley. Stanley took the advantage and he quickly overwhelmed Trevor with the speed and precision of his punches, each fist hitting its target and weakening Trevor until he was too tired to even try blocking. Stanley finally let up, and Trevor laid still on the mat, his body bruised and bloodied. He let out a weak, barely audible groan. Stanley noticed that the room was silent, all eyes on him and Trevor.

"Stanley!" Dylan yelled as Stanley stood above the unconscious Trevor. "Time's up here, let's go." Dylan turned and walked out of the training room.

Stanley followed quickly, knowing the where Dylan was going, and knowing that he would not enjoy Stanley being late. Dylan and Stanley came to another room. The walls and floor of the room were originally a bright white, but they had been blackened and burned by smoke and fire. The ceiling of the room was stained black and grey by smoke, and the vents that were once shining silver were now dark and charred. In this room Stanley had won no fights. There was no padding in the room because it would catch fire. Dylan stood in the center of the room holding a black bag. He opened the bag and pulled out a padded black suit.

Dylan threw the suit at Stanley, who put it on over his normal workout clothes. Stanley, now dressed in his specialized fireproof suit, walked towards Dylan. The large white door slammed shut behind him and hissed as its hydraulics sealed it. Stanley's heart pounded out of fear. He knew what was about to happen. "Special Equipment Training" as Dylan called it. He still wasn't ready.

A smirk crossed Dylan's face as he cracked his knuckles.

"Whenever you're ready, Stanley."

Stanley charged forward, hoping to catch Dylan off guard. He led with his right fist, aiming for Dylan's face. Dylan anticipated the punch and grabbed Stanley by the wrist and flipped him over. Stanley hit the floor hard. As he lost his breath Dylan, still holding Stanley's right wrist, kneeled down and pinned Stanley's left arm under his combat boot. With his free hand Dylan punched Stanley in the face, pummeling him over and over. Stanley felt the boot on his arm release as Dylan stood up and let go of his other hand.

"How many times are you gonna try that move, Stanley?"

Stanley's pained groan was his only answer. Dylan walked over to the black bag and reached inside it, pulling out what looked like a jet pilot's helmet, painted all black.

"Put it on," He said as he tossed it to Stanley. Stanley, still on the floor, caught it and flipped it around so the goggles faced him. He stared at himself, face bloody, with one black eye.

"What are you waiting for?" Dylan glared at him.

Stanley flipped the helmet around and put it on. He stood and faced Dylan.

"Let's get this over with," Stanley sighed. His voice was altered by the helmet's speaker systems, making it lower pitched and almost robotic. The respirators that filter the air he breathed, amplifying his mechanical breathing slightly.

Dylan smirked again and raised his right arm out to his side. Stanley watched as Dylan's hand suddenly burst into flame, the fire climbing up his arm and stopping at his shoulder. Dylan cocked his arm back like he was preparing to throw a ball. He opened his hand and a ball of fire materialized among the orange flames of the rest of Dylan's hand. Stanley, out of instinct, set his feet apart and prepared for the impact to slam into him.

Dylan's arm shot forward, but stopped halfway through his throw. He raised his finger up to his left ear, touching the wireless earpiece he had. He lowered his flaming hand and listened to the earpiece before pressing a button on it.

"We're on our way," He said into it, then after a moment of listening he corrected himself, "I'm on my way," He extinguished the fire on his arm and began walking over to Stanley.

"Suit off," He said. Stanley took his helmet off and faced him.

"What's going on? Where are we going?" Stanley knew better than to ask, but he was too curious.

"I have a mission. You are going back to your quarters. Now," He said the last word so that its meaning could not be misinterpreted.

Stanley took the fireproof suit off, putting it and the black helmet back in the bag. Dylan walked over and grabbed the bag.

"Go back to your room, Stanley. We'll continue training when I'm back from the mission,"

"What's the mission?" Stanley asked, immediately cursing himself for asking another question.

Dylan turned and punched Stanley in the jaw, sending him straight to the floor. Stanley groaned as he rolled over and got on his hands and knees. As he raised himself up onto one knee Dylan kicked his leg, sending Stanley back onto the floor.

"I warned you about asking questions, Stanley."

Dylan pressed a button on the wall and the door slid open as he left the room. Stanley picked himself up off the floor and leaned against the wall, pulling himself together. As he stepped out of the room he looked down the hallway to his left, where Dylan was turning off into a side hall. Stanley looked to his right, where his quarters were. He knew he should get back to his quarters.

But then again...

His curiosity won over his instincts and he left the training room and turned to the left, following Dylan's path. He stayed far behind so Dylan would not notice him, following each twist and turn Dylan took. Stanley turned along a corridor and came to a dead end. The hallway ended with an open door, which Stanley stepped cautiously through.

He was now in a dark room with rows of computers sitting on desks, all turned off. Ahead of him Dylan stood in front of a huge, wall-mounted monitor that provided the only light in the room. On the screen was the silhouette of a man with short hair and broad shoulders. The man on screen talked to Dylan, but it was too quiet for Stanley to hear what they were discussing. As he creeped closer, hiding himself behind the desks, he began to pick up what they said. The man on the screen had a distorted voice, making it deeper than anyone's normal voice should be.

"-you need to get the asset back here. He's too important for us to let the others take him."

Dylan spoke back, "I'll need a squad of men with me. And we'll need a cover story to tell the public-"

"The public will not hear about anything that happens," The man on the screen interrupted. "You will take the asset silently, and if he resists you will subdue him. If anybody hears about this it could put the vigilantes on our trail,"

"Yes, sir," Dylan looked down at the floor.

"This will be done with no witnesses. You and Graves will each take five men to collect him."

"Graves?" Dylan said, almost nervously. "I don't think he'll be necessary for the operation. I could take Isaac or Stanley or-"

"I'm coming with you, freak. I don't like it anymore than you do," Graves walked out of the shadows and into the light of the monitor. He was tall, taller than Dylan, and his pale skin made him look terrifying to Stanley.

Stanley had never met Graves in person, only seen him in passing. But he had heard stories about him from the other trainees.

Erick spent the whole day at school waiting for it to end, but at the same time dreading what would happen after. But he just wanted to get it over with. The man with the metal hand, Darren he said his name was, told Erick to wait for him after school. Erick sat anxiously the whole day. After class Erick ran towards the exit and waited outside. The weather was actually nice today, with a clear blue sky and a shining sun. Despite that Erick still shivered. He thought about running home, but something deep down in Erick told him to stay. He jumped when Darren came from behind and slapped him on the back with his bear paw of a hand.

"Whats up, Hero?" Darren said lightly, starting to walk away. Erick stood rooted to the ground. He turned back, "Come on, we don't have forever,"

"It's Erick," Erick grumbled as he reluctantly followed Darren. Darren put his hands out in front of him and gestured grandly as he said, "Fine. Erick the Hero."

"Helping an old lady hardly makes me a hero," Erick said.

Erick and Darren walked a few blocks into the city, past coffee shops and shops, slowly making their way down towards the coast of the lake. They walked along the shore as people passed them, going on their daily routines or simply walking and enjoying the weather.

Darren sat down on a bench facing the water and Erick joined him. Erick was the first one to talk.

"So what kind of group is this anyway?"

"It's more like a support group. We all, like you and myself, have… abilities. The ability to do something amazing."

"So you're telling me you have super powers? How are you guys not on the news every day, saving people and-"

"If anyone knew about what we could do," Darren cut Erick off, "They'd hate us, lock us up, and perform experiments on us. These days they hunt us down and kill us like animals." He sighed,

"Listen, Erick," His switch to a serious tone worried Erick. "I don't really know how you managed to survive this long without anyone noticing you, but that doesn't matter now. What matters is that I found you, and that I can trust you. See, you have proven to me twice now that you are the kind of person who is willing to step in to do the right thing. That's something a lot of people don't have these days." Darren pulled out a packet of cigarettes from his pocket and put one is his mouth. "Now, for us to proceed with the next step of initiation I need to hear you tell me that I can trust you."

Before Erick could answer Darren said "Because If I can't trust you, and these rules are not mine so forgive me if this frightens you, If I cant trust you one hundred percent, then I'll have to kill you." He finished with a cloud of smoke.

Darren looked at the surprise and fear on Erick's face as he waited. "Well?"

Erick stuttered then cleared his throat, "You can one hundred percent trust me."

"Good. I've always hated that part, but now we can move on to phase two."

"How many phases are there?"

"Don't worry about how many there are. All you need to focus on is the task at hand."

"And what is that?"

"Confirmation and extraction. I gave a call to a friend of mine who gets approval from higher up and we meet to extract you." Erick nodded.

"While we wait for approval," Darren continued, "Which should be coming any minute I want to ask you some questions."

"Okay," Erick said more tense than before.

"First, what is your power and how well can you control it?" Darren saw the lost look on Erick's face. "Don't worry, most new recruits are around 8 or 9 years old, so they don't have the best answers either. Just try and guess."

"Actually, that's the first time I've used that...whatever it was that happened." Erick said, "I just kinda felt a pull from somewhere inside me and I shouted."

"Okay..." Darren brought the cigarette to his mouth again. "Now what were you feeling when it happened?"

"I felt… scared, but also calm. It felt like someone needed my help." Erick said, getting lost in the memory. "I felt a spark inside of me. Faint, but…"

"Do you think you could do it again?" Darren asked.

"I-I don't know. Maybe." Erick turned his attention towards the water and the people walking and running by. Erick closed his eyes and focused deeply, then from within him he felt the spark, it flickered and faded, but it was there. He opened his eyes and looked at a woman walking alone.

"Stop." Erick said as her eyes went blank and she stopped in place. He felt the flame within him die out and the woman moved, she held her head and glanced at Erick and Darren before she returned to her routine. Whatever Erick felt inside him was gone now.

"So. Mind control," Darren said to himself.

"I guess," Erick said.

Darren's phone vibrated. Darren looked at it while Erick waited impatiently.

"Where do you live?" Darren said as he finished reading the text.

"I live with my mom and her boyfriend." Erick said feeling embarrassed. "I actually live in that building right there," Erick pointed to his tall apartment building nearby.

"What floor?" Darren asked.

"I'm on the 57th." Erick finished.

Darren stood up finished the cigarette in his mouth and crushed it with his foot. "Well, Erick, initiation needs to happen quick, so tonight me and my backup are going to come pick you up. And tell no one where you're going." Erick nodded. "Alright Erick, see you tonight." Darren left Erick on the bench alone. People ran and jogged by, occasionally hitting puddles from recent rain, and Darren disappeared into the crowd. Erick walked home, looking over his shoulder constantly, until he finally walked into the large tower he now called home.

When Erick walked in he heard Morris's voice immediately, "SARAH! The kid's home." he yelled at Erick's mother while he watched TV. Erick went to his room and saw his mother waiting there on his bed, a sad look on her face.

"Mom?" She looked up at him now. She looked like she was daydreaming.

"Come sit." She called to Erick.

"Whats up? Is something wrong?"

"Rick, me and Morris were talking and…well...we think you should start looking for your own place." Erick felt pain as he looked into his mother's eyes. She didn't look him in the eye.

"But I-I"

"Morris agreed to help you look for an apartment."

"I can't believe it I-" Erick was cut off by the sound of the doorbell ringing. His mother got up without saying anything and left the room. Erick sat, confused but relieved. Moving out was something definitely on his list of things to do. His pending adulthood had been on Erick's mind for a while, but as it was approaching fast it had always frightened him. Erick got up to follow his mom down the hall. As he got closer he heard two men talking to Morris.

A serious, stern voice echoed through the house, chilling Erick to the bone. "We're looking for Erick Hammond."


	4. Chapter 3:Eventful Re-Encounter

**Erick knew he was in trouble** as soon as he heard the man's voice. He spoke with the voice of a teacher, like someone who was used to dealing with uncooperative people. Then he heard the second voice, almost growling, "We're the police." He did not sound convincing.

"Sarah, who is it!?" Morris asked from the living room.

When Erick's mother heard Morris her back straightened a bit and she said

"Some people saying that they're cops." That's when Erick heard the second man again, who sounded much more irritated.

"Who was that?" He said as Morris walked towards the door. Erick watched from the hallway as the men forced their way into the apartment. One was tall and clean looking, dressed formally with a black suit and tie. The other man was dressed completely different, clothed in a long black trench coat and heavy boots that echoed through the house. Erick noticed that he walked with a limp.

"Who the hell are you?" Morris said. Both men stopped in their tracks.

They both said their names at the same time, the well dressed man was named Dylan, and the man in the trenchcoat named Graves.

They both recovered quickly and realized something, the man named Dylan reacted with lightning speed. He pulled his coat aside and unholstered a gun that shot two metal darts that latched onto Morris. As he went down his body twisted and jerked as if he were being tased. Erick's mother tried to turn to run but was stopped by the man Graves who grabbed her, putting a gloved hand over her mouth and nose until she went limp. Erick ran for his room while he heard them talking.

"Was that really necessary?" The man David said.

"Shut up freak. You saw what he did." Graves

"We're here for a kid not some-"

"We're here to catch freaks. So I'd better get a bonus for catching this piece of trash. Now help me move these bodies before the kid gets here." The men shut the door and began to move Morris to his chair in the living room and Erick's mother beside him. The man Graves pulled a radio from his coat pocket and spoke into it.

"Any movement down there?" He waited a moment, with no response.

"Hey? Anyone down there?" he asked again.

That's when Ericks phone went off, the loud _DING_ from his phone made him jump from his own skin. Erick fumbled around with his phone trying to lower the volume, hoping no one heard as he read the message.

Blocked number:Hey Hero.

Then after a moment,

Don't wanna knock, you up?

Erick felt a hand grab his shoulder as his feet were kicked out from under him and he was on his stomach pinned to the ground. He felt the grip the man had on his wrist and was very aware that he could break his arm in one movement.

"Please. I don't know anything." Erick started. The man said nothing as he picked Erick up and led him to the room where Graves looked at Erick with the eyes of a starving dog. His scared face complimented his rough voice "It seems like Christmas came early this year." He walked up to Erick slowly pulling out a knife and putting it to his neck.

"We've been looking for you for a long time, kid. You know, I thought you'd look older." Erick saw him glaring at him with hatred he'd never seen before and it frightened him so much he began shaking. Erick screamed and he felt an explosion inside of him, as if a grenade went off on his chest. Erick felt his skin tingle, then they were engulfed in intense heat. Erick looked down at his arms, and they were covered in flickering orange flames. Graves rolled away and pulled out a small machine that looked like a rifle from his coat. As he aimed it towards Erick two arms unfolded from the front, turning the rifle into a crossbow with a bolt already ready to fire.

"Don't do anything to the boy!" Dylan yelled at Graves, still holding on to the boy Erick. The flames from Erick's arms had begun to burn and melt both Dylan and his own clothes.

"I've never seen two freaks have the same defect." Graves said, still aiming his crossbow right at Erick's head, until they heard a bang at the front door. Graves walked to the front door

"That better be backup." Said Graves as he walked to the door. Dylan's grip tightened as the flames on Erick began to die out and crawl onto Dylan, as if he was taking them. The fire swirled around Dylan's arms, but Erick was not burned by them. Erick's arms were numb.

Graves swung the door open, and a metallic clang rang out as Graves flew across the living room, leaving a dent in the wall where he landed. Dylan looked over as Darren stepped through the door with a younger man around Erick's age behind him. Erick immediately recognized the face of the other boy, despite not seeing it for years.

"David?" Erick said out loud.

Graves lifted his crossbow and fired a bolt aimed at Darren's face. Darren raised his arm and the bolt bounced harmlessly off, tearing a hole in his jacket sleeve and exposing the shiny metallic arm beneath it. David stepped forward and raised his arm, and from his fingers a bolt of lightning shot out and hit Graves, causing him to drop to the floor. Dylan held Erick by the neck with his left hand and his right hand was extended, now engulfed in flames.

"Stay back!" Dylan shouted.

Darren and David both stopped in their tracks. David looked at Erick for the first time, immediately recognizing him.

"Come on, Dylan," Darren stepped forward. "We all know how this is going to end. Just let us take our friend and we'll get out of your hair,"

"We both know that's not gonna happen." The two talked as if they knew each other well.

"Yeah, we know," David sighed, "Sorry I've gotta do this." He looked Erick in the eye. "Sorry Erick,"

David extended his hand and electricity surged out towards Erick and Dylan. Dylan's grip on Erick's throat released, and Erick was collapsed to the floor, paralyzed. Darren walked up to Erick and brought him to his feet.

"It's good to see you again, man." They shook hands and lightning crawled back and forth between both of their hands, but this time Erick was not electrocuted. It felt like a static shock to Erick as lightning arced between their hands.

Darren walked across the room to Dylan, who was laying on the floor, immobilized. He was unable to resist as Darren picked him up by the back of his neck and effortlessly tossed him away into the wall.

"Not to rush your reunion, but we should probably leave." Darren said with a smirk. As they ran to the door Erick stopped, "Wait. My mom. We can't just leave her here. _I_ can't just leave her here,"

Darren and Erick looked at each other "Man, I don't know how to say this, but you're on their radar, and our instructions were to bring you, and you alone..." Darren said.

"Fine, don't help. Get out of here while you still can," Erick said, turning around.

"Wait," Darren started.

He found his mother beside the chair Morris sat in, eyes closed. Erick shook her to no response. Dylan had started recovering and fiery embers beginning to smolder on his skin. In a panic, Erick pulled at the light he felt inside him and shouted.

"Go back to sleep!" He yelled, trying to use the power he apparently he felt.

Dylan's face changed from confusion to amazement as Erick was literally exploding with energy. He seemed to glow blue as electricity shot from his forearms. Dylan threw a fireball at Erick, who flinched and shut his eyes and raised his arm in front of him. Erick felt his arm grow cold and opened his eyes to see that his left arm was now covered in steel. Erick marvelled as the reflections of both orange and blue light from Dylan's fire and his other arm's lightning danced off of his metallic skin. The fire died out and his skin returned to normal.

Erick spun and hid behind the chair, mind racing, he let his instincts take over. Erick stood up, arms extended at Dylan, and focused his power into his hands. Electricity shot out of his palms and sent Dylan to the ground. Erick's arms turned to steel as he picked up his mom, who was suddenly as light as a feather. He ran for the door and found Graves holding his crossbow pointed right at Erick. From behind him a bolt of electricity hit Graves, who cursed and continued to twitch on the floor. Erick made his way out the door in a panic and ran into David and Darren.

"So, we decided that you've proved yourself, so congrats. You just won two memberships," David said, smiling the wicked smile that Erick still remembered from his childhood. As they ran down the halls of the apartment building he added, "That was the coolest thing I have ever seen,"

They ran past halls and down to the elevators. Before Erick stopped running

Darren shouted, "No good, we gotta use the stairs,"

"Why?"

"They'll be expecting us to go through the elevator,"

"It's 57 stories." David reached the stair entrance and opened the door. "The sooner we start, the sooner we'll be done,"

Erick was tired beyond belief, after 5 stories his steel arms turned back into skin, then they felt like they were as heavy as lead as he dropped his mother. They stopped as Darren offered, "I could carry her for a bit, but we need to get as far as we can right now,"

Erick simply sighed. There was a moment of silence before they moved again. After over 40 flights of stairs they needed to stop.

As he caught his breath Darren asked, "What about the guys in the lobby?"

"I already told you," David said. "It's lights out for those guys for at least a couple more hours. What I am worried about is the 20 minutes we have until Graves gets up," Erick and David both noticed how Darren flinched a little.

"God, I wish I was Kyle right now," David said, moving on.

"I think...I think I can try again," Erick said suddenly. Erick looked at his hands and closed his eyes. The flame he felt inside was now clear to him, he grabbed at it and opened his eyes to see and explosion of electricity in the palm of his hand, crackling before turning into a ball of flame. Erick focused even harder, and his entire arm turned to shiny metal. David looked at Erick with a worried look on his face. Darren gingerly handed Erick's mother back to him.

"Let's go," Erick said. "Like you said: time's almost up, and I feel that we want to be as far away from these people as possible," He began walking down yet another set of stairs. Erick didn't know where they were going or who and why people were chasing him. All Erick knew was that if Darren and David were running from them, then there must be a reason, and he didn't really want to find out why.

When they reached the lobby Erick found more than a dozen people laid out on the floor, all dressed like members of a SWAT team. Evidence of a fight was everywhere: bullet casings were strewn around the marble floor, soldiers were bruised and bleeding, many with broken and twisted limbs. Scorch marks blackened several walls and parts of the floor.

"Sorry about the mess," David smirked. One man, also dressed in black SWAT gear sat on the marble floor with his back against the wall. He was the only man in the lobby who was still conscious. The radio strapped to his shoulder crackled to life with the voice of Graves.

"If anybody's listening down there, you better hope you catch those freaks before I get down there. You've got three targets headed your way: One turns to steel, one's got lightning, and one with an unknown mutation. Deal with the two with whatever means you need to, but I swear to God you better not kill the third one, or you'll answer to me!"

The officer looked up at the three standing above him with fear in his eyes. Graves called for the soldiers to acknowledge him, becoming angrier each time he was met with silence. A weak whimper escaped the lone soldier's mouth.

"Stay where you are," His eyes showed how helpless he felt without any backup.

Darren leaned down and yanked the radio off of the officer's uniform, crushing it in his hand. Shattered plastic crumbled to the floor. As the three stepped away from him, with Erick carrying his mother with him, the soldier got to his feet and ran for his life out the front doors of the apartment building, disappearing into the night.

They opened the door to chilly winds and ran down the street

"No car?" Erick asked.

"Um...we took the bus here," David said "But I think we could get one," Darren sighed and cursed under his breath. The three of them ran back to the underground parking lot and stopped in front of a light green prius. David grabbed the handle of the car and released a bolt of lightning. The door unlocked.

"You know how to drive?" Erick asked David as they piled in the car, "Don't you?"

"We're about to find out," Erick sat in the back with his mother while Darren sat in the passenger seat. The tires squealed as David sped out of the parking lot. He swerved along the roads and slammed the brakes frequently. After what seemed like an eternity David finally got the hang of driving and led them out of the city. Erick's mother groaned weakly and her eyes fluttered open.

"Erick? What's happening?" She whispered, eyes widening with fear as she took in her surroundings. "Did we get kidnapped?"

"No, mom. These are some friends, Darren and David. They saved us from...someone"

"Hello Erick's mom," David turned and looked back from the front seat. Darren yelled as the car swerved across the road. David turned back and kept his eyes on the road.

"Um...hello David," Erick's mother looked around, confused.

"Mom, there's a lot I need to explain to you,"

As they drove in the dark, Erick explained everything that had happened to him in the past few days. From his first time meeting Darren, to his apparent superpower, to the fight in the apartment. David chimed in to enthuse about how Erick fought off Dylan and Graves. His mom simply listened the entire time, and at the end of it all she said nothing.

"You're seriously just going to believe everything Erick just told you? No questions at all?" David asked her.

"First of all, it's so good to see you again David. Second of all, don't act like I didn't know about you. And third where is your sister Amber?" They all looked at how Erick would react, but he was quiet. He turned to Darren he said, "Can I ask questions now?" Confused, Darren nodded his head.

"I thought powers were just something in comic books and movies. I didn't think they were real,"

"First things first, everything you know about the world is only the half of it. It's missing everything that would expose what the Order doesn't want you to know. The other half you're not quite ready to know yet,"

"Okay, then who was trying to kill me?" Erick demanded.

Darren was about to say something but David interrupted, "The big, scary, emo dude is Graves. You'll want to watch out for him. The fire guy is Dylan. They work for the Order. They were probably there to take you and use your powers for their own,"

"And if I had refused to go with them?"

"Well you already saw how much they liked you. Since you just beat them up and ran away, you just earned the golden ticket into our group. We call ourselves David's crew-"

Darren elbowed him and said, "The best way to avoid them is to never show up on their radar. You know, keep a low profile. But since that doesn't exactly seem like an option anymore, you'll have to come with us."

Erick now turned to his mother, "Did you know about any of this?"

"Not at first, but when I did start noticing...I couldn't tell what exactly it is you could do…. I still don't know."

"So what _do_ you know?" He pressed.

"I know the people that helped hide David and Amber after the incident with their mother and I knew that after that you had a chance at having a regular life so we stayed and-"

"Wait, what are you talking about?"

"The night my mom died," David said, "Amber, she changed what you remember about that night," He continued. "You were there actually. I remember my mom started screaming, we hid but you left. We chased you to our kitchen and you ran at the man who had broken in. He tried to hit you but I shocked called the cops, but...my mom was already dead. Your mom came over and called Armando, Amber made everyone forget what happened, and her and I left with Armando."

"Amber changed how I remember it? How?"

David smiled. "I think she's gonna be happy to see you,"

 **Amber stood on the side of the road** as cars whizzed by, blowing her hair across her face. Everything around her was fuzzy and out of focus. She became aware of her brother, David, standing to her left, and Erick stood on her right. The bus was late, and the only other person waiting with them was a man. He wore a suit, he had a satchel and was on his phone. The more time passed the more upset he became, he was texting and mumbling to himself. Then he started crying, quietly at first but after a few seconds he was sobbing.

He got a call and picked it up instantly and listened. "Vanessa don't ignore me please-who is this? This is him. She what? No." He fell to his knees, "Where?" And finally, "I'll be right there," He hung up the phone.

Amber knew she wasn't allowed to use her powers in public, but she couldn't resist and took a peek inside his mind. In an instant she knew his every thought and feeling, and his sorrow that ran so deep it brought tears to her eyes.

 _Worst year of my entire life.  
_ Amber dug deeper into his mind, hearing his thoughts as if he were speaking right into her mind. _My dad, mom, and now my wife and baby? I just got fired. What am I gonna do?  
_ She stepped out of his mind, feeling instantly guilty. Wanting comfort, she turned away to face Erick, he looked at her with his smug smile and she felt better. She knew Erick could cheer her up so she let herself enter his mind for just a second. _Wow I can't even look away_. She felt warm and happy then back to her normal self. Erick's attention had finally been pulled when the man in his suit dropped his phone.

The man looked at the street and ran for it, straight into the traffick. Erick moved with such speed towards him barely grabbing on to his satchel. Erick pulled him back just before a semi truck slammed into him.  
Amber was ripped from the daydream by a message on her phone. She had gotten use to how vivid and lifelike her dreams and thoughts were. She was at her desk waiting for word from David. She hadn't heard from him since he had left with Darren to collect the new recruit. She looked down at her phone and saw the simple message David had sent:

"We have Erick."

Amber got up and walked out of her room into the dark hallway. She could feel the minds of her friends sleeping in different rooms. She used her phone light down the hall and walked to the main area. It was a large room decorated with only pictures and a clock. There was a fireplace against a wall and 3 couches placed around the room and a couple of chairs. Isaac, Peter and Melissa were sitting in front of the fire place, the fire inside it dwindled down to just embers.

"They're almost here," Amber said breaking the silence of the room. Peter was the first one to respond.

"Can you hear him yet?" He asked. Amber closed her eyes, she could still feel everyone in the room, but now they were like formless figures in the dark, lacking shape. She searched and found the form she recognized as David, whose figure stood out more than anyone else's. He wasn't in the room, but Amber felt that he was close. She focused on his mind, sending her own thoughts into his head. She visualized the words as if she were sending a text directly into David's head. _What happened, David?_

 _Hey._ Amber felt his response in her head. _I know you are probably excited to see Erick but before you do just watch this_ : She now saw David's own memories playing in her head as if they were her own.

She saw Erick standing by his unconscious mother, he shouted something, then suddenly began crawling with electricity just like David did when he used his power, then he caught fire for a second. As fire smashed into Erick's side his arm turned to steel. He jumped out of sight then came up electricity shooting from his hand, and the memory shifted. They were in a staircase and Erick held out his palm. Lightning sparked around on his hand, then suddenly turned to flames, then his whole arm turned to steel.

David told her the rest of the story, "Do you realize what that means for Erick?" She said aloud, but also to David's mind. After a pause she suddenly felt David's guilt.

 _What about his mom?_ Amber asked David.

 _She's good, it's actually good timing considering Armando's condition, he'll be real glad to see her. We'll be inside in a second._

Amber's eyes opened, and Peter was in front of her holding her hand. He wore his sunglasses, even in the fire-lit room. "What's wrong? You seem upset,"

She smiled at him, "It's nothing,"

He pulled her in close and whispered, "You know you can tell me anything," She pushed away, smiling.

"David and Darren are almost here. Let's go see what they brought us,"

Erick and his mother stepped out from the car, followed by David and Darren. Following Darren, they all walked down an alley to a dumpster that's sat in front of a cage door. Behind the door sat a man in a small room, sitting alone and reading a book. The room barely fit them all. Darren stepped forward.

"What's up Adam,"

He looked up and smiled at Darren "Sorry, didn't know when you guys would get here," He got up and walked to the back wall placing his hand on it. Suddenly a green oval formed on the wall, slightly taller than Erick's head and about as wide as him. Inside the oval was a swirling mass of green.

Erick looked at Darren, who laughed. "Fine I'll go first " And he walked into the oval, disappearing inside the swirls. David followed after, disappearing like Darren. Erick and his mother stepped forward cautiously before slowly walking through the oval. The man named Adam chuckled as they stepped through. He was suddenly In a different room, not much different from the one he's just come from. A soft orange glow came from under the door at the end of the room. Darren held the handle and looked back at Erick

"Sorry, dude. This is gonna make me look bad, but it's totally necessary," Darren turned and pulled a small strip of cloth from his back pocket. He approached Erick and put it over his eyes. His mother's protesting voice was evidence that a blindfold was being put over her eyes as well. He heard Darren open the door, and then his strong hands grabbing his shoulder and guiding him forward.

They walked him for a while and placed him on a chair, strapping his hands and legs to the chair. He no longer heard his mother.

"What's up with that shirt?" He heard someone he didn't recognize ask.

"We didn't exactly have time for him to change." David said back  
"Peter, could you take Sarah to see Armando?" Darren said from somewhere behind Erick and a door somewhere in the room opened and closed.

"Can someone get him a shirt?" Erick heard a girl's voice. Erick's heart skipped a beat as soon as he heard her.

"Amber?" Although Erick could not see, he felt everyone in the room staring straight into him. The cloth over his eyes came off and he was stunned by the sudden light. After a second to adjust he saw Amber standing in front of him, arms crossed. She was much different than the last time Erick had seen her, but she was still instantly recognizable to him. She was taller than he remembered, but her hair was much shorter and the tips of her black hair were dyed red.

"Good memory," She said sarcastically.

"How could I forget?" He said with a smile. Darren threw a shirt at Erick as David untied the thick ropes from his wrists and ankles. This was the first time Erick looked around the room, empty of everything except a bare light bulb in hanging from the ceiling. Five people sat in folding chairs around Erick. He saw Amber in front of him with Darren and David sitting to her left. A girl sat in another chair next to Amber, and she looked at him with distaste, annoyance and curiosity. Away from him chair in a corner sat a boy. He was Hispanic and he had curly hair and looked like the only innocent looking child among them.

He took off his dirty, torn shirt and they all looked at him oddly, then he remembered as he looked to the scar on his chest. Amber gasped as she reached for it, but stopped and looked him in the eye.

"Can I see?" Erick nodded and she pressed a finger on the side of Ericks head. She closed her eyes and he couldn't help but smile.

"What are you doing?" He asked.  
"Just watching. I'll show you," She said.

Suddenly, Erick was outside a house, one that Erick knew too well. Erick knew this place as the origin of his scar, the fire that has haunted him almost every night. As Amber stood next to him they both became spectators to the raging fire that engulfed the house. They looked at the house burning so bright they had to squint

"You went in there?" Amber asked him. Erick pointed to his younger self running in, then they were suddenly inside the flaming house. Around them debris fell all around them. They watched as Erick wandered the house crying and coughing until he opened a door and found the girl in the corner of the room. He picked her up and stumbled out the room, they found a destroyed staircase, and Erick threw her across as the floor began crumbling beneath him. She made it down and ran for the door. Erick tried to jump across but when his feet hit the ground the floor fell and he was on his back. They watched as a burning log pinned him down burning away at his shirt then melting his skin. Amber gasped as Erick remembered the pain. The world went black and they were back in the room.

Amber backed up and turned as Erick now awkwardly put the shirt on. "Why exactly was I blindfolded and strapped in a chair again?"

"Just because you used to be buddies with David doesn't mean that we all trust you," Her voice made Erick jump. The girl who didn't seem to like Erick now stood a few feet in front of him.

"Well now that you mention it, I don't exactly trust you people on the account of ruining my life and dragging me into this mess,"

"Meeting Darren ruined your life, so that's on you," She spat back.

"I'm sorry, Erick," Darren said.

"You could be dangerous for all we know," The girl carried on. "Or a spy," Erick noticed that everyone made a face when they heard spy.

"That's enough, Melissa," Amber said.

"But-" She protested.

"We can trust him," Amber looked at Erick. "We have to,"

"And why is that?" the boy in the corner asked.

"Because we're looking at one of the Big Five,"


End file.
